3. The Wall

A hand covers my mouth, holding my against the ground. I raise the wind around my and slam it into my opponent.

"Shhhh. Listen to me, there's a group of guards only a few campfire lengths away from here. They have horses. The plan is that you'll pretend to be a maiden in danger and I'll snatch their horses. With the horses we can travel twice as fast to your little wasteland." I exhale loudly as she releases my mouth. I don't really want to be a damsel in distress but here plan is arrow proof. I'm not sure why she wants to help me. All I've ever been to her is rude.

I nod and we split off. I head deeper into the trees and she heads upwind of the guards; a risky move. Once I reach a fairly open area I spin the wind around me creating a fake illusion of a helpless maiden. I let out a believable cry and don't wait to see if the guards come before screaming about someone attacking me.

"If you think this is going to cut it then you're dead wrong," South Wind criticizes and I frown. Swirling the wind to turn it into a hand to grab the water. Creating droplets I let the unsalted tears dribble down my cheeks and make my cries more distressed.

"Now you look like an idiot," South Wind critiques. I let out harsh, loud breaths.

"We're not going to hurt you. We heard your cries and if there's anything we can do to help we'd love to do it." His suggestion is so heartfelt that it brings tears to my eyes. Here I am deceiving this man so I can have his horse and he acts like such a kind gentleman in return. Something's not right here.

"A man. A man came and did horrible things and he went that way." I direct them in the opposite direction I'm headed. The man nods and his group of men race away.

"You're evil." The comment stings coming from South Wind but I know it's true. I shake those thoughts away and head for Fire. She meets me halfway and hands me a horse.

"You know? I always thought you were kind of a jerk but I'm learning that you're not so bad," I tell her as she hands me the reins of a cream colored stallion.

"You're not so bad yourself," she comments as she swings herself onto her horse.

We ride hard and see no signs of anyone. We avoid towns and stay away from major trails. Anxiety builds up in my stomach as we near the end of the kingdom. I can almost smell the oranges and taste the freedom on my tongue. We encounter few obstacles and soon we're here.

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. No oranges or rain but those were minor details. I open my eyes, no rolling hills. I frown, there must be a mistake! In front of me is a big gray wall. It stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions and is taller then the sky itself. East and West Wind chuckle and it all comes crashing down on me. There never was freedom. The King had this wall built to keep people in. There is no escape. I turn to Fire and her face is as confused as I feel.

"There has to be a way around it or through if or under it or something," she mumbles and my confusion spreads.